How to Find –and Retain– the Right People for the Right Jobs

I sat down recently with Rebecca Brennan, director of human resources, and Aimee Miller, director of corporate communications for Compunetics and Compunetix. These sister companies in Monroeville, Pennsylvania are actually three companies: Compunetics is a PCB manufacturer; Compunetix does assembly; and conferencing service provider Chorus Call is considered the parent company. I already knew a little bit about their programs, having spent time at Compunetics in past years. My understanding was that people really seemed to stick around there, and since this month’s issue is focused on digging into ways to attract and retain talent in our industry, I looked forward to learning more about their methods.

Patty Goldman: Hi, Becky and Aimee. It is great to meet with you. I really want to learn more about your company’s hiring and training practices and the Compunetix philosophy regarding retaining people. Aimee, perhaps you can start and provide a little background on both Compunetics and Compunetix and how they fit together with Chorus Call. Please share something with our readers about yourself, and your position.

Aimee Miller: I’d be glad to. We are 49+ years old, with our 50th anniversary coming up next February. In the early days of Compunetics, the original parent company, we relied heavily on government contracts including our first for the Navy’s Anti-Submarine Warfare program. Years later, in 1990, Compunetix was established and we began to undertake commercial applications within the Communication Systems Division. Within Compunetix we also have a Federal Systems Division, Video Systems Division and, the Instrumentation Systems Division, which works closely with the Printed Circuit Boards Division of Compunetics.

We design and manufacture state-of-the-art collaboration applications. Over the years, before we acquired a large percentage of the market share, Dr. Giorgio Coraluppi, our president and founder, thought it would be a good idea to put into use the equipment we were making. To test the product, we set out to find customers. We found potential customers and offered them a very personalized, high-touch service. Our services were well-received and we started charging for them. What grew from this was the notion of a small service provider, first called Concert Call then incorporated as Chorus Call. Rather than having a large service provider that farmed out the services, we started opening small offices around the world. We’re literally in your backyard, speaking your language. In 2008, we acquired a fourth company, Sonexis, which is our foray into the enterprise market. We’ve covered the commercial aspect. We’ve got the federal, we’ve got enterprise, and we’ve got service.

To read the full version of this article which appeared in the May 2017 issue of The PCB Magazine, click here.

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ICT technical director Bill Wilkie is well-known for choosing notable venues for Institute of Circuit Technology events, and his choice for this year’s Annual Symposium was the National Motor Museum, located in the village of Beaulieu in the heart of the New Forest, a national park in the county of Hampshire in Southern England. The region is known for its heathland, forest trails and native ponies.

Every year IPC recognizes two companies that have made significant contributions to IPC and the electronics industry. These awards are named after industry executives who were themselves significant and outstanding contributors: one for a PCB fabricator company and one for an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) company. This year’s recipients were Northrop Grumman and Rockwell Collins, respectively.

Hold on to your seats! 2018 will be a year full of rapid changes, surprises, and growth. M&A activities will flourish. The supply chain will suffer shortages and changes as demand increases, copycats will rush to market, and new markets and potential suppliers will vanish before they are established.

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How to Find –and Retain– the Right People for the Right Jobs

I sat down recently with Rebecca Brennan, director of human resources, and Aimee Miller, director of corporate communications for Compunetics and Compunetix. These sister companies in Monroeville, Pennsylvania are actually three companies: Compunetics is a PCB manufacturer; Compunetix does assembly; and conferencing service provider Chorus Call is considered the parent company. I already knew a little bit about their programs, having spent time at Compunetics in past years. My understanding was that people really seemed to stick around there, and since this month’s issue is focused on digging into ways to attract and retain talent in our industry, I looked forward to learning more about their methods.

Patty Goldman: Hi, Becky and Aimee. It is great to meet with you. I really want to learn more about your company’s hiring and training practices and the Compunetix philosophy regarding retaining people. Aimee, perhaps you can start and provide a little background on both Compunetics and Compunetix and how they fit together with Chorus Call. Please share something with our readers about yourself, and your position.

Aimee Miller: I’d be glad to. We are 49+ years old, with our 50th anniversary coming up next February. In the early days of Compunetics, the original parent company, we relied heavily on government contracts including our first for the Navy’s Anti-Submarine Warfare program. Years later, in 1990, Compunetix was established and we began to undertake commercial applications within the Communication Systems Division. Within Compunetix we also have a Federal Systems Division, Video Systems Division and, the Instrumentation Systems Division, which works closely with the Printed Circuit Boards Division of Compunetics.

We design and manufacture state-of-the-art collaboration applications. Over the years, before we acquired a large percentage of the market share, Dr. Giorgio Coraluppi, our president and founder, thought it would be a good idea to put into use the equipment we were making. To test the product, we set out to find customers. We found potential customers and offered them a very personalized, high-touch service. Our services were well-received and we started charging for them. What grew from this was the notion of a small service provider, first called Concert Call then incorporated as Chorus Call. Rather than having a large service provider that farmed out the services, we started opening small offices around the world. We’re literally in your backyard, speaking your language. In 2008, we acquired a fourth company, Sonexis, which is our foray into the enterprise market. We’ve covered the commercial aspect. We’ve got the federal, we’ve got enterprise, and we’ve got service.

To read the full version of this article which appeared in the May 2017 issue of The PCB Magazine, click here.